


She Hears Me

by Kat_Rowe



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Gen, Hugs, Missing Scene, s12e7
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-18
Updated: 2020-02-18
Packaged: 2021-02-22 13:36:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22783762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kat_Rowe/pseuds/Kat_Rowe
Summary: Short fill-in scene from the end of "Can You Hear Me?" The Doctor may not know what to say to Graham, but that doesn't mean she doesn't care.
Relationships: Thirteenth Doctor & Graham O'Brien
Comments: 16
Kudos: 60





	She Hears Me

**Author's Note:**

> I had to write this. You can see my note at the end if you care at all about my reasons for that. Whether you do care or not, though, I hope you enjoy this.
> 
> It just fills in what I think happened in the few moments between the camera shifting to Ryan and Yaz and the Doctor joining them. It's from Graham's point of view because I suspect the Doctor's thoughts were a jumbled, whirling, painful mess that wouldn't make for a very pleasant read.
> 
> It's also the shortest thing I've written in years (and the shortest thing I've ever written that wasn't crack). Not sure what that means or why I felt the need to mention it, but there we are.

Graham watched her pretending to work, and found himself surprisingly fine with her inability to immediately offer comfort. Even the Doctor didn’t have all the answers, and she’d always been one to admit it. She didn’t know what to say, but her uncertainty was better than a thousand trite slogans about taking things one day at a time and living each day like it was your last.  
  
Because she was _there_ . She hadn’t left, hadn’t retreated, hadn’t fallen back on hollow platitudes. His admission had obviously rattled her, but it hadn’t driven her away, and that just made him feel closer to the strange and wonderful creature who had appeared in his life when he most needed something, _anything_ to give him some small trace of pleasure in his continued existence. She’d given him that, and so much more.   
  
And, now, standing five feet away from him and staring intently at a blank panel, she was trying to find something else to give him. After a moment, she looked up, clearing her throat and squaring her shoulders. Biting her lip, looking awkward and almost hesitant, she edged closer to Graham.   
  
Then her arms were around him, the embrace surprisingly strong. Startled, he forgot to return the hug for a moment. Then he wrapped his arms around her and held on tightly. It felt good, probably better than words could have, and she didn’t seem inclined to let up any time soon.  
  
“Thanks, Doc,” he whispered against her cheek.  
  
“I don’t always know what to say, but I hope you know…” She hesitated for a moment, then plowed on, “I can’t tell you not to be afraid, but I can say that you don’t have to face your fears alone. I can’t promise you much, but I can promise that I’m here.”  
  
He smiled at that, giving her a firm squeeze and then drawing back. She was unbelievably strange and awkward, but so very genuine and loving. She reminded him of Grace in more ways than should have been possible, with her goodness, compassion, need to help others, and quiet strength. She was a good friend, even if she didn’t always know what to say.   
  
“Thanks, Doc,” he repeated, smiling and nodding.   
  
“Did that help?” she asked, expression endearingly unsure and hopeful.  
  
“Yeah. Yeah, it did,” he told her. “So… Where to next?”  
  
“Anywhere you like. What are you in the mood for?”  
  
“Well, I don’t know about anyone else, but I’ve had enough of the modern world for a little while. But somewhere with relatively modern diet and sanitation, as well?”   
  
“I know just the place!” she announced suddenly, eyes lighting up. Looking around, she asked, “Where are Yaz and Ryan? Always wandering off, those two.”   
  
And then she ducked around one of the pillars and he could have sworn he heard the word “Frankenstein” from her, which made him chuckle. Life with the Doctor might not have been free of fears, but at least it was always interesting. 

**Author's Note:**

> I know that some people think that the Doctor's reaction to Graham's confession about his cancer fears was rude or insensitive or inappropriate, but I'm not one of them (thus this fic). 
> 
> As a person with a lot of health problems, I've seen that "oh, crap, what do I say?!?!" reaction far too many times to count. It's natural, especially for people without much personal experience of severe illness, and the Doctor's honesty was a far better response than some. 
> 
> People with severe health problems don't need pithy motivational sayings. We get enough of staring at motivational posters in waiting rooms and exam rooms. And, honestly, there are the people who just can't cope with the idea of severe illness at all, and who just shut down or retreat. The Doctor didn't. She admitted that she wasn't sure what to say, and she STAYED BY HIS SIDE. Just someone being there and being willing to listen even if they don't know what to say is honestly one of the best things that can be done for a person with those kind of anxieties.
> 
> (All this is completely imo. Individual mileage varies, of course. But, whether you agree with me or not about what people with severe health worries do or don't need, I think the Doctor did the best she could under the circumstances.)


End file.
